


Set It All Free

by fishboi



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Abusive Valentino (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Angel is talented, Angst, Bad Decisions, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Fluff, Frenemies, Gaslighting, Hurt Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Manipulation, Music, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Past Drug Use, Protective Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Protective Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Protective Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel), Self Confidence Issues, Slow Burn, Smart Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Soft Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino Bashing (Hazbin Hotel), alastor is not the abuser, angel and vaggie being friends, multi-talented angel dust, somehow hes not the original longterm relationship with angel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27924886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishboi/pseuds/fishboi
Summary: Angel Dust just got out of a long lasting relationship, and moving on is proving difficult. Having a hard time opening up to everyone else at the hotel, Charlie finds the need to help Angel open up through other means, only to discover he seems to have a myriad of talents he'd neglected to share.Alastor isn't a fan of the sudden change in everyone's behavior following the spider's recent breakup and comes to realize there's a lot he doesn't know about Angel. It seems he'll have to get to know the spider he had previously only thought of as a brainless plaything for anyone who paid a pretty penny, but it looks like there's so much more beneath the surface, and he can't help his curiosity wanting to dig deep into that fresh wound of newly lost love to see what he can find out about Angel.
Relationships: Alastor & Husk & Niffty (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Comments: 16
Kudos: 102





	1. Curious development

It had started off like a normal day at the hotel.

Husk was seated at his usual place behind the bar that also doubled as the front desk, not so subtly sneaking drinks when he felt like it, which tended to be more often than not. If anyone had something against it, they weren't letting it on, and the cat enjoyed being able to mind his own business in return of not sticking his nose into everyone else's. 

Niffty would occasionally sit down with him to have a chat, only to run off when someone inevitably made a mess somewhere that she needed to clean. Husk didn't mind too much, he enjoyed talking with Niffty, but her mouth would run 50 miles a minute and he could only handle that for so long before getting irritated at being unable to keep up with what she was saying.

Charlie would also swing by from time to time, wanting to see if someone had decided to check in while she was gone, usually resulting in a slight drop of her shoulder when the answer almost always was 'no'. She'd usually have Vaggie in tow, the two girls rarely being seen without the other, and when they were apart, it was never too far away or for very long. If Charlie had something to attend to that Vaggie wasn't a part of, or vice versa, the other would simply sit in one of the couches on the lounge and on a chair by the bar while they waited for the other.

Alastor never seemed to have a schedule or a predictable pattern in what he did within the hotel, except for showing up at 6pm on the clock at the bar, second last seat on the left, with his usual drink, and ready to discuss his latest entertainment with Husk. It was the only ritual he seemed to keep at the establishment, having done so every day without fail for the past two months since he originally decided to invest in the hotel. He'd been surprised to see that Charlie's efforts weren't completely null, as a few demons had decided to take a peek inside, resulting in a few sign-ups as well. As of now, to Charlie's immense joy, they were up to a good 12 patrons, excluding the original star patron.

Now he was an enigma, especially to Alastor. The very first demon Charlie had deemed worth the time of day, the first one she wanted to put time into, had been Angel Dust. A seedy open-mouthed whore with legs just as open to match, some of the most foul language Alastor had laid ear to, not to mention what would come out of his mouth when he was actively trying to piss someone off, which seemed to happen a lot. He was rude and unpleasant, loud and irritating, an overtly sexual creature who seemed willing to give anyone the time of day provided they'd strike his fancy or paid well, but oh so entertaining all the same. His personality was nothing to speak much about, it really seemed he fit the brainless bimbo stereotype he seemed so keen on obtaining, but that also made it so much more fun when he'd jab a slightly clever insult at someone who looked at him wrong.

Still, Alastor found himself unable to really enjoy the spider's company. Sure, he could be entertaining at times, but it was never near enough to justify all the flaws that came along with it. He had yet to see him _actually_ do something worthwhile, and it seemed like so much wasted energy when Charlie refused to acknowledge Angel's many faults in favor of encouraging him to stay. Alastor didn't believe one bit in the ridiculous redemption thing she was attempting, but it was plain to see some of the other patrons were much more deserving of her efforts than Angel was. Some of them were genuinely trying, while Angel seemed to purposefully mess up, and it was quite the pathetic sight if Alastor was being honest. Despite his opinion on the whole thing, he never talked to Charlie about it. He figured he should let her find out herself how much time she was actually wasting by trying to redeem a simple slut like Angel.

He had zero redeeming qualities, got in fights with the other patrons constantly, and resorted to comments that made Vaggie nearly foam at the mouth in anger, and somehow, Charlie still insisted on keeping him around for whatever reason. It was ridiculous. He'd never seen someone stick out their neck for a frankly disgusting harlot like Angel Dust, and even with Charlie's constant positivity, he'd thought she would've at least put in less effort at this point, surely she'd have to see it was going nowhere. Yet, she kept going. Every single failure of an attempt on the spider demon only seemed to encourage her further. It was bewildering. But entertaining. So Alastor figured he didn't mind Angel sticking around too much, even if he didn't personally find him pleasant to be around. He was the source of a great deal of the fun Alastor could find in the rundown hotel.

Today, however, the spider was nowhere to be found on hotel grounds. Alastor had taken to reading the newspaper at the bar in his usual seat, sipping casually on the cheap whiskey Husk had put in front of him. The cat was wiping an already very clean counter, most likely for the lack of something better to do, and Alastor figured he should at least indulge his friend. After all, he was the only one around at the moment. Niffty had found something apparently very time consuming to clean, as she hadn't stopped by for even a minute for the past hour, Charlie was doing rounds to check in on how her guests were doing, and Alastor had no idea what Vaggie was up to, but he assumed that wherever she had gone off to, it wasn't of much interest to him.

Alastor folded his newspaper, putting it to the side as he took another sip from the near empty glass in front of him. He cleared his throat, making Husk's ear flick toward him before his hand stilled, looking up at the other demon.

"Husker, my dear friend, if you keep abusing the counter like that, I'm afraid you'll wear the wood down," he hummed, the quiet buzz of radio static lacing his words. Husk rolled his eyes, but did put the rag away, sorting to tapping his claws against the counter instead. Alastor raised an eyebrow at that, watching as Husk looked at the front doors for a minute, shifting his attention elsewhere, only to return to the doors a few seconds later.

"Is anything the matter, old pal?"

Husk turned his attention back to Alastor for only a moment, before he was fixated on the doors again.

"Nah, 's nothing. Just the kid's been out all day," 

Alastor tilted his head, his expression curious. Surely Husk wouldn't concern himself with the likes of Angel, he'd been complaining about the spider just yesterday!

"And that is concerning to you, because?" Alastor questioned. Husk sighed, shrugging as he leaned against the bar.

"Dunno. Guess he was just actin' weird this morning and Princess said she hadn't even seen him leave," he shrugged again, "everythin' about it just seemed kinda off."

Alastor leaned back in his seat, folding his hands on the counter.

"Seems very unlike you to pay attention to such things, especially in your usually inebriated state," he hummed, causing Husk to glare at him.

"Whatever."

Things fell quiet after that, and Alastor assumed the conversation had ended there. He was about to just go back to his newspaper, when Charlie dropped by. He assumed she'd want to see if anyone new had checked in, but she sat down with her check-in sheet instead, looking up at Husk. Only one name was left blank on the paper, and as Husk met the princess' eyes, the two seemed to be communicating about something and Alastor wasn't much a fan of not knowing what was going on. Husk shook his head and Charlie sighed, nodding a little in acknowledgement. She got up, grabbing the sheet and walking off, most likely to go meet up with Vaggie.

"Surely she can not keep expecting new people to have shown up anytime she comes by," Alastor said, watching her leave before picking his newspaper back up to resume reading. Husk rolled his eyes, tapping his claws on the wood again, eyes back on the door.

"She's worried about the kid. Hasn't texted her with the check-ins he's supposed to, she's been dropping by to see if he'd come back without her knowin',"

"Well, it's not unlike Angel to just wander off whenever he pleases. For all we know, he could very well be at the nearest bar to get his fix because Charlotte won't indulge him here," Alastor huffed, flipping the page over to the newest murder article. He didn't quite understand their concern, the spider had a track record of missing curfew and not texting back, it wasn't anything out of the usual. For some reason, this time seemed to bother them both more though, and while he could understand Charlie at least a little, it was strange to see Husk get his feathers ruffled because of it.

"Yeah, well, that still doesn't help her concern, and it's rubbing off on me because she's coming to me about it, and even _I_ could tell something was off about him today," Husk mumbled, keeping his eyes on the doors. Alastor almost wanted to roll his eyes at the whole thing. It was most likely just another day with Angel running off to shoot up somewhere, and leaving Charlie to deal with the aftermath. He decided to stay quiet, biting his tongue about more snide remarks. He was finally going to be able to go back to his newspaper and put the porn star out of his mind while he still had peace to do so, only to get interrupted by the front doors finally opening. Husk visibly relaxed, and Alastor could only assume it was Angel who'd finally decided to show up. He wouldn't have guessed usually though, as none of the loud remarks the spider would usually make upon his arrival weren't there. He was oddly quiet.

Husk didn't seem relaxed for very long though, his eyes narrowing. Alastor decided whatever was going on had been going on for long enough, and turned to see what the hell was doing on with the spider only to pause. While he didn't pay attention to him much, Angel was different. Off. Like Husk said. There was none of the dramatic flair or energy that seemed to just radiate off the spider everywhere he went. He looked almost dull. Alastor found himself curious as to what had gotten Angel like that. He didn't much care for him, but a change like that was surely bound to be entertaining in some way.

He snapped out of thought when Angel moved, slow steps, his arms wrapped around himself in an almost protective manner. None of the sensual swaying of the hips he usually did to provoke or fluster whoever crossed his path. He looked small and fragile. Like the smallest touch was bound to shatter him like glass. He slowly made his way to the bar, sitting down at the seat furthest to the right, as far away from anything as he possibly could. Husk walked over to his side of the bar as Angel slumped over the counter, all of his limbs still hugging himself, resting just his head on the wooden surface. Alastor watched them curiously as Husk put a hand on Angel's head for a brief moment, in what seemed to be a comforting gesture, before moving away from the bar, walking off somewhere.

Angel stayed quiet until Husk came back a minute later, Charlie in tow. As soon as she saw Angel, she rushed over, and Alastor was surprised to see how the spider let her manhandle him. Usually he would complain about being searched, but he stayed quiet and let Charlie touch him. It didn't look like the usual pat down, there was no searching of his pockets or an embarrassed hand in the exaggerated chest fur that he hid things in from time to time. It was more… Gentle. Like she was checking him to see if he was hurt. After she finished, Alastor was surprised yet again as he watched Charlie hug him with no resistance. In fact, Angel was hugging back. Carefully. It was unusual. He didn't permit Charlie to hug him normally, ranting about how it was too soft, telling her she'd have to pay to touch the goods like that. But there was nothing.

Husk shifted back behind the counter as Charlie led Angel away, presumably to his room. Whatever had just happened, Alastor was not a fan. Such a weird change in personality and routine, it felt all too wrong and sudden. There had seemingly been nothing leading up to this, just a sudden switch. He turned his attention to Husk as the cat began wiping the counter again.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Alastor questioned, getting a shrug from Husk.

"Not really any of my business but Princess said he'd been having some problems lately. Wouldn't elaborate, not that I really care either way, but she's concerned and it's been bugging me," he mumbled, "seems like everything _but_ drugs and alcohol right now." 

_How curious,_ Alastor thought, looking to the staircase off to the side of the room where Charlie and Angel had disappeared to.

_How very, very curious._


	2. Out of Line

It had been a few days since Angel Dust came home in that almost pathetic state. Alastor had brushed it off at first, surely it was a one time thing, or Angel wanting some extra sympathy to possibly convince Charlie to give him good boy points for additional drinks. Angel's behavior didn't exactly change though. He wasn't going to work, instead moping around on the couch closest to the fireplace, usually accompanied by his pet pig Fat Nuggets. Even the pesky phone he seemed to be glued to at all other times was nowhere in sight, instead he opted to stare mindlessly into the green flames of the fireplace. He'd be curled up around the little pig, petting them softly as he spaced out, eyes unfocused.

Alastor had had about enough of the sad display, and when Angel showed up for the fourth day in a row to lie down and stare at the flames, he decided to do something about it. He approached the couch, clearing his throat to get the spider’s attention, but didn’t get any response or even some kind of acknowledgement that he even knew Alastor was there. Alastor raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat again, louder this time. When he still got no response, he rolled his eyes. _Melodramatic._

He watched as Angel busied his hands with petting the small pig that had nested into his lap, scratching it mindlessly under the chin as he stared at the fire. Completely lost to the rest of the world it would seem. That certainly wouldn’t do. After all, Angel had been the biggest source of entertainment so far, so seeing him like this was less than ideal. He could care less for the spider in general, but he wanted the annoying and loud version back, not whatever this pitiful mess was.

“Angel.”

No response.

“ _Angel._ ”

Alastor was actually getting _frustrated._ He could’ve yelled at the spider if it wasn’t for the noise of approaching footsteps. He looked up as Charlie entered the room, snapping his fingers quickly to get her attention. She turned to them and sighed when she saw Angel. She made her way to the couch, sitting on the other end of where Angel was laying, putting a gentle hand on his leg. Angel flinched for a second, but soon relaxed under her touch, closing his eyes.

“I’ll bring you some lunch, yeah? We didn’t see you at breakfast so I doubt you’ve eaten. I’ll get extra for Fat Nuggets,” she hummed gently, giving his leg a barely there squeeze before getting up again. She pulled her jacket off, placing it over Angel while making sure the pig in his lap went undisturbed. She began walking to the kitchen, Alastor following behind her. As soon as they’d stepped inside and Charlie had gone straight for the fridge, Alastor took that as an opportunity to talk.

“Care to tell me what’s been going on with our resident? He’s been moping on that damned couch for days, it’s pathetic. He’s doing none of his chores, and while I usually would enjoy this sad display of weakness, it’s frankly pitiful, and I’m sick of it,” Alastor huffed, watching as Charlie stilled. She slowly turned her head to look at the other demon, and she didn’t look happy.

“Al. I know _you_ don’t care about anyone here, but the rest of us _do._ It’s not my place to talk about what Angel’s going through right now, so unless you start giving a shit, it’ll stay none of your business. Now, excuse me, but I have a resident that actually needs my care,” Charlie said, slamming the fridge door as she made her way back out of the kitchen with a plate of food. Now that was quite the display. Charlie hardly ever swore, not even when she was mad, so clearly Alastor had done _something_ she wasn’t a fan of. He couldn’t quite figure out what though, after all he’d only asked about Angel, nothing else. He decided to follow her back out, watching as she sat back down next to Angel. She nudged him gently and he begrudgingly sat up, taking the plate she offered him. He was eating slowly, most of the contents on the plate going straight to Fat Nuggets who had been sniffing at the food excitedly ever since Charlie had come back. He was once again surprised to see Angel put the plate away when he was done with it, and lean against Charlie.

_Curious._

Maybe there was a tad more to the whole thing than a false display in favor of getting pity, or simply being melodramatic. Charlie had flat-out refused to tell him what was going on, so he supposed he’d have to find out himself. It’d have to wait though. Until Angel was alone again. Charlie would be suspicious if he started snooping now, right after what she’d told him in the kitchen. He reminded himself again that he didn’t actually care about Angel, he was only curious about what had gotten the spider into such a rut, and only because it meant less entertainment for himself if he were to stay like that.

He observed them for a bit longer before turning on his heel to go find entertainment elsewhere. Maybe he could find a stray patron to mess with a little before going back to business.

The next day proved to be another mystery to Alastor. Last he'd seen Angel, the spider had looked pale and upset, but just as he was about to figure out a plan to get to the bottom of that, suddenly it seemed everything had gone back to normal. He'd come to the hotel only to see Angel at the bar, grinning at Husk as he teased the cat, Niffty on the seat next to him, switching between laughing at their antics and yelling at them when Husk would spill something on the counter while trying to dodge Angel's playful advances.

Alastor supposed this was fine. If Angel was back to his usual self, then there was no need to formulate a way to interrogate him about his weird behavior. Sure, he was still curious about what had gotten Angel so upset in the first place, but it was over now, so he assumed there'd be no point in trying to pry. With Angel's tendency to overshare just about everything, he would probably tell them all on his own either way.

"If you don't stop, you're gonna break somethin'," Husk growled, only causing Angel to lean closer over the bar.

"Oh, Husky, I'd like for you to be breaking me instead," Angel cooed, causing the cat to groan. Alastor cringed. _That_ was something he didn't miss. There was nothing charming about Angel's little games. Sure, he could get _some_ people flustered, but that didn't mean they liked Angel shoving himself all over them. In fact, he was almost sure that Husk only let him because the princess would be upset if he told Angel to back off in the harsh way the spider truly deserved. Alastor was about to just take his leave again, if Angel was going to be like that he wanted no part of it. But then Angel's phone pinged and his whole demeanor changed. It was only for a second, but Alastor could see his face fall, his shoulders slump, and he was back to where he'd been for the past few days. Only for a second. Then there he was again, the Angel they were used to, sly grin back on his face. He turned back to the bar, cooing at Husk. 

"Sorry kitty, gotta go. I'll be back for a little pick-me-up later though," he hummed, fluffing his chest up as he blew the cat a kiss. Husk rolled his eyes, but there was a tiny smile on his lips. _Hm. Perhaps the cat didn't actually mind that much._

Angel turned his back to them and began walking, and as soon as he was out of their direct line of sight, he deflated. He backed up against the nearest wall, away from prying eyes, at least the ones he knew about, and slumped against it. He let himself drop to the floor as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Alastor decided this was far more interesting than anything else he had been planning to do and stepped back into the wall, disappearing into the shadows. His own seemed to come to life instead, gliding along the wall until it was hovering over Angel. It peered down at the spider who seemed less and less like himself by the second as his eyes darted around a rather lengthy text on his phone. Alastor could see his hands begin to shake as he kept reading, and to his surprise he heard something. A little noise, following a twitching of Angel's shoulders. Alastor didn't have time to consider what had gotten the spider so upset when another ping came from his phone. He squinted, trying to see what was going on on the dreadfully small advice as Angel tapped the new notification. His breath hitched and it sounded like he was starting to panic a little. Alastor started a bit as Angel got up quickly, shoving his phone into his pocket again. He watched as he raked his hands across his face to dry it off, barely giving himself a second to get composed before hurrying off to get out the front doors.

As Alastor slipped back into a physical form, he couldn't help but think that Husk and Charlie had been very, very right when they said something was wrong.

As soon as Angel stepped outside, he allowed himself to breathe out. This was bad. He felt his phone go off multiple times in his pocket as he started walking and it was a consistent reminder that he'd done something wrong. That Val was upset at him.

He'd been skipping work lately. It wasn't exactly on purpose, but things in his personal life were piling up and left nothing for him to even consider to go to work. He knew he would need to make it up to Val, and he hated to think about the implications of it. Neglecting the hotel and himself had meant neglecting the studio and Valentino too. Not only that, but he’d outright ignored the overlord, too focused on every other little thing to even consider the consequences of doing so. Valentino wasn’t just upset, he was proper pissed, and Angel could tell by the insistent buzzing in his pocket. He’d have to answer him eventually. Ignoring it was only gonna make it worse. But he also couldn’t bring himself to look at it right now. He knew the texts were littered with insults and threats, a few pet names being sprinkled in here and there in an attempt to convince Angel that Val wasn’t _really_ mad. He’d seen it all before. And he used to fall for it every time.

But then there was _him._

He'd come and swept Angel away if only for a moment. He still wasn’t sure how Valentino had allowed it all to happen. He’d always been very vocal about how Angel belonged to him, and only him, and the spider had been convinced it would always be like that. But then _he_ came along, and Angel had been blown away. He had been everything Valentino wasn’t. He promised he'd never become him either. His sweet words never felt like a trap, a false sense of security before the punishment. They felt genuine. And like a damned fool, Angel had fallen hard. He supposed that was fitting. He was a fool. The warmth in his chest whenever he’d been held by him. The kisses. They had been so free of lust, and full of love instead. A longing for Angel himself, not whatever everyone else wanted. He’d felt seen. Appreciated. And he was a fucking idiot for doing so.

He should have known. He could have told himself as much. He never learns.

The thing with parasites is, that you don’t know they’re parasites before they’ve already infested you.

He’d been blind. Naive. Hopeful.

He’d been _wrong._

He assumed that’s why Valentino had let it play out. Of course he would’ve known. Because he knows Angel. He knows what people want from him. He knows what people see when they look at him. He knows everything he’d cared to find out about Angel. He knows it would only be a matter of time. He knows Angel is vulnerable. He knows it'd hurt. He knows Angel would always have to come back at the end of the day.

Angel hadn’t had a clear path when he left the hotel. He’d used his phone as an excuse to get away. He hadn’t planned on going back to the studio yet, but now, without thinking, he’d found himself back there. He looked up at the looming building, seeing the obnoxiously bright lights were on on the highest floor. In Valentino’s office. His phone was still buzzing in his pocket. He was already there, he should get it over with. He had barely checked the messages, maybe he was wrong and Val wasn't actually that mad. Maybe he was even worried. Maybe he would feel bad for Angel and hurt him less. Maybe he wouldn't hurt him at all. Maybe he'd make it all go away instead.

It was a small hope, but it was all he could hold on to as he stepped inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy to have the new chapter out! Please leave a comment telling me what you think ^^
> 
> Also made a schedule for hopefully updating every sunday/monday depending on timezones.


	3. Tip of The Iceberg

The secretary at the front desk shot him a quick glance as he walked past her- she almost looked sorry for him, and it wasn’t helping the sinking feeling in Angel’s chest as he neared the elevator. As he stepped in and hit the button for the floor to Valentino’s office, he finally pulled his phone out to check the moth’s texts. He pointedly ignored another contact just below Val’s as he clicked into the chat, scanning over it.

_ Valentino seemed  _ **_pissed_ ** _. _

He swallowed hard as he willed his hands to stop shaking, he couldn’t be weak. Maybe Valentino wasn’t actually that mad, just impatient, and he’d be nicer when Angel showed up. He flinched when the elevator made a sound, signaling it had stopped. Angel looked up as the doors opened, shakily stepping off before they closed again. He took a stuttered breath as he put his phone away, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times as he made his way down the hall. He paused in front of the large door, trying to get his breathing under control.

_ Don’t be weak. If you tell him the truth he won’t be as mad. Just get it over with. You’re making it worse by stalling. _

Angel took a last deep breath before turning the knob, gently pushing the door open. He peeked inside, his eyes locking with Valentino’s. He shivered for a second before stepping inside fully, hanging his head low as he hugged himself. He hated the feeling of tears welling in his eyes, he hated himself for being like this in front of Val. The overlord was quiet, watching Angel shift his weight from leg to leg. He felt pathetic, and he was sure he looked it too. The silence was too much, why wouldn’t Valentino just yell at him? Yelling meant angry. Silence could mean anything. He could hear his own heart beating in his chest, getting louder and louder,  _ just say something- _

“Angel, baby, look at me.”

As soon as the spider looked up at the other, he broke.

“You were right about him,” Angel sobbed, his entire body shaking. Valentino cooed, holding his arms open, inviting Angel back into the false comfort he'd been so used to. And Angel went. He flung himself right into Valentino's arms, crying into the fur trim of his coat. The overlord wrapped himself around the spider that seemed so much smaller in his grasp.

"Oh, Angel Cakes…" he hummed softly, gently petting Angel's hair. "What did I tell you about men like that?" 

"I- I know, I'm so- so sorry-" Angel choked out, letting the overlord pet and comfort him.

"It's okay baby, it's over now. Daddy's got you," Val murmured, cupping the spiders cheek, lifting his head gently to make him look at him. Angel's eyeliner had smeared with his tears, at first running down his face, then smudging further when he'd buried his face in Valentino's coat. Val cooed, gently swiping a finger across his cheek to wipe away another tear. Angel leaned into the familiar touch, not caring what it would mean later. He just wanted to enjoy it while it was still soft and comforting.

"There, let me look at your pretty face," he murmured, brushing hair away from Angel's eyes. "No more tears for someone who doesn't deserve them." 

_ If only you knew, _ Angel thought, sniffling as he let Valentino fuss over him. He knew it would be temporary, it always was, but the slick words of a false comfort was what he needed right now, and he’d take it from anyone who’d offer even a sliver of it to him. He had half the mind to be disgusted by himself for falling back into Val’s arms like that, but it was heavily overshadowed by how sorry he felt for himself. How pathetic he felt. How lost.

“Let me help you forget it, sweetheart,” Val murmured.

He didn’t resist when Valentino shifted him into his lap.

He didn’t resist when Valentino held him tighter as if Angel would ever dare try to run away.

He didn’t resist when Valentino kissed him.

He just closed his eyes, and willed everything to go away.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this out of it. He barely registered what had happened inside the studio, he didn’t know what time it was when he was done. If it wasn’t for the visual of things shifting around him, he wouldn’t have known he was even moving. It was only after a few minutes of feeling around that he realized he was inside Valentino’s limousine, touching the weirdly textured seat. He groaned a little as he came to, looking out the window for only a moment before lying back down when the fast moving scenery made him feel sick.

He curled up in the seat, willing his stomach to settle as he felt the movement of the limo when it drove far too quickly over an inconvenient speed bump that never seemed to actually slow anyone down.

He didn’t properly relax until he felt the vehicle slow to a stop. He took a few deep breaths before he sat up, his head lolling to the other side as it felt way too heavy, only causing him to fall over again, slumping against the seat. He nuzzled into the fabric, trying to convince himself he was back in bed. The illusion was disrupted when the car door was opened and someone grabbed him by one of his wrists, pulling him up and out. He stumbled as he was dragged to the building they’d stopped in front of, vaguely aware of the big sign announcing he was back at the hotel. He felt the smallest of relief from being somewhere familiar again.

The front door was opened and he was shoved inside as the car sped away. He squinted at the somewhat human shaped things moving towards him, trying to focus on what they were. His eyes felt heavy, and he realized how tired he really was. Had he been that tired the entire time? He couldn’t remember, and he couldn’t focus on trying to. His head was spinning. He blinked as one of the shapes drew closer, and he could feel one of his own arms reaching out, only to limply fall back to his side. It was too heavy.

_ Everything is too heavy, _ he thought, blinking again a few times. He swayed a little. If he got to rest, just for a moment, he’d feel better, he was sure of it. He watched one of the figures hurry over, garbled voices around him as he let his eyes close, slipping into the sweet sense of emptiness as the pitch darkness overtook all his senses.

Alastor was a little surprised to see Angel returning that evening. After what he’d observed earlier, he figured he would go hang out with his explosive friend, maybe go cause more trouble to further damage the reputation of the hotel, or maybe he’d go out to get drunk off his ass so he could wake up in a ditch somewhere. Yet, there he was, standing just inside the hotel as a car sped away, and he looked a  _ mess _ .

He was clearly disoriented, and if the dilation of his pupils had anything to say, he was high on something too. Charlie had appeared at the sound of the door opening, her eyes widening when she saw the state of her patron. She called his name, getting no reaction, and when she took a step closer, everyone watched as Angel reached out for her, only for his arm to fall back as he started swaying. It looked like he could fall over at any moment, and Charlie took notice of it, immediately rushing over as she yelled for him again. She barely reached him before he fell over, stumbling backwards as she caught him.

Alastor tilted his head as Vaggie, who’d been following Charlie when she’d entered the main room, helped her girlfriend shift Angel to a more manageable position. She seemed worried, which was unlike her when it didn’t concern Charlie. He shifted his attention to Husk as the cat moved from his spot behind the bar, making his way over to the couple to help with the spider. It was a weird display as Husk picked the other demon up, since he was clearly too big for Charlie to deal with on her own. The demon in question let out a soft sound, giving off a weird giggle as he seemed to wake up again, if only a little. Charlie went over to the bar, picking an ice cube from a freezing container off to the side. Vaggie tilted Angel’s head up a little as Charlie talked to him gently as she helped the cube into his mouth. Husk shifted his hold on the spider to keep his head propped, which Alastor assumed was to make sure he wouldn’t choke on the ice.

Charlie and Husk walked off, presumably to get Angel to bed, while Vaggie stayed behind, sighing as she made her way to the bar, slumping over in a chair a few seats away from Alastor. He lifted an eyebrow.

“You seem rather… disgruntled over something. This is hardly the first time Angel has come back like that, what has changed for you?” Alastor asked, getting Vaggie’s attention as she glared up at him, her demeanor changing instantly.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, fuckface.”

“Now now, no need to be like that, my dear, it was a simple question. Angel has never been one to stay out of trouble like that, surely you should be used to it by now,” he said, earning a harsher glare. He really wasn’t sure what was going on with everyone regarding Angel, and he was getting frustrated about being left in the dark. She huffed, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, no shit, but do you think I enjoy seeing him come back like that? Dude’s high out of his mind, none of us like that. I was pissed at him before because I thought he was doing it on purpose, to make Charlie and I look like a fucking joke, but then the shit with his boyfriend- ugh. Again, none of your business. If you wanna know so bad, you should ask him yourself. I need to go make sure Charlie isn’t freaking out,” Vaggie mumbled, sliding off the chair. She walked up the stairs to the next floor, leaving Alastor alone at the bar. The hotel wasn’t silent very often, especially not since other demons had started signing in, but now it was almost deafening. Alastor realized it was because he, himself, wasn’t even making noise. No buzzing of an old radio, or a faded tune, no static.

Alastor shook his head as he got up, reaching his hand into the air as his microphone staff appeared in it. It came along with its own wave of static, and the deer demon was grateful for the complete silence being broken again. He never could quite stand it. He stepped further away from the bar to make space, using the end of his staff to draw a circle on the floor around himself, the area within turning black as he sank into it. He reappeared in his office on the opposite end of the hotel, sitting down at his desk with a sigh. Apparently there was a lot more going on than he’d originally thought. Angel acting strange was supposedly only the tip of an iceberg he hadn’t expected to stumble upon, and the reveal of a boyfriend seemed to be the next layer.

Alastor couldn’t help feeling curious about what the next thing after would be. Maybe there was a lot more to Angel than he had originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 3! I hope yall are liking it so far, even though it's a little slow. Chapter 4 is finished and will be posted on schedule, and things are picking up a little in that, and will pick up even more in chpater 5. Thanks for reading!


	4. Answers

When Alastor decided to rejoin his co-workers the next day after an admittedly sleepless night, he wasn’t surprised Angel wasn’t in the lobby. It was one less headache for Alastor to deal with either way he supposed, taking a seat at his usual spot by the bar, Husk looking sluggish as ever in the semi early hours of the morning. Somehow, if the cat’s expression was anything to go by, Alastor looked worse for wear despite his lack of a need to sleep for very long. Husk opened his mouth to ask, closing it again when Alastor put his hand up to prematurely silence him.

“Not a word. It’s been a long night, dear Husker,” he mumbled, and he assumed that was it when the cat was quiet for a while, only for him to speak up anyway.

“Not that I care, but you didn’t exactly have a broadcast planned or nothing, and I would’ve known if you left the hotel because your static bullshit makes my fur all weird, so spill the beans, why do you look like a dumpster fire when you had nothing to attend to?” Husk asked, putting a shot of whatever clear liquid he’d grabbed without looking in front of Alastor, who eyed it for a while before taking it. Husk took the glass back and wiped it down, waiting for Alastor to speak again.

“I was thinking about what occured last night,”

“With the kid?”

“Yes. It wasn’t exactly an unusual display for him, but you were all, seemingly at least, very concerned, and it got me wondering. Then Vagatha stayed behind and mentioned something about a boyfriend, and I have a sense that I’m being left in the dark about something here, and I must admit I don’t quite like it. Charlotte and Vagatha refuse to tell me what’s going on, so I’m relying on you as my trusty companion to let me know what’s gotten everyone like this.”

Husk looked at Alastor for a bit, his eyebrow raised as he thought about it. Sure, it wasn’t his place to tell, but if the deer had already been pestering Charlie and Vaggie about it, it wouldn’t be long before he went to Niffty instead, and Satan knows she can’t keep her mouth shut. Husk considered removing the hyperactive cyclops from the hotel for a few days to hopefully discourage Alastor from interrogating her, but he knew it would do nothing to deter him in the end.

Husk groaned, rolling his eyes as Alastor looked at him with slightly wider eyes, knowing he’d convinced the cat. He could probably get away with being vague, as long as it satisfied Alastor’s curiosity for the moment.

“Fine. This is only to shut you up so you stop botherin’ everyone,” he grumbled, putting the glass he’d been cleaning back amongst the rest on the shelf. “Dunno if you noticed, since you don’t seem to give a shit about ‘im-”

“Thank you, Husker, I’ll store that assumption with Charlotte and Vagatha’s-”

“ _But,_ he was actually improving. Shocker, I know, but it seemed like he actually wanted to do better.”

Now, that _was_ actually a surprise. Alastor hadn’t considered that, seeing how Angel usually acted, but now that he was thinking back, he realized Husk was right. Angel had been acting less, well, like Angel. Not in the strange subdued way he’d been for the past few days, in a more subtle way.

He'd still scoff at Vaggie when she asked him to do something around the hotel, giving the excuse that he wasn't an employee and didn't have to do her work, only for it to have been done a few hours later, with none of the actual employees to take credit for it. If he was asked about, he'd either blow it off, saying it annoyed him, stating _someone_ had to fix it since it obviously wasn't getting done otherwise, or he'd simply pretend he had no idea what they were talking about and to get out of his way because he was busy before throwing a quick innuendo in there for good measure.

Alastor hadn't paid much attention, but he _did_ notice Niffty complain about her apron being ruined by a particularly nasty guest that didn't appreciate room service, only for her to have a brand new one the next day, seemingly handmade too, no note, no nothing, and while no one so far had figured out how it got there, or who gave it to her, Alastor had a sneaking suspicion he knew who the culprit was after all.

He snapped out of thought when Niffty scurried by, jumping into the seat next to the deer, slamming her tiny hands down on the bar counter.

"Give me a strong one," she growled, quickly getting a drink put in front of her. The ice clinking in it made Alastor think about the previous night again.

"The ice cube. Why did Charlotte give him an ice cube? What good would that do in the state he was in?" he asked, watching Niffty down the entire thing before hurrying off again, the glass left empty on the counter.

_Probably a particularly filthy resident,_ Alastor thought, looking back up at Husk.

"Gives him somethin' to focus on. You ever just hold a whole ice cube in your mouth? Not a lot to think about other than how cold that shit is, especially in a state like that. Might've started freaking out if his thoughts got away from him. Don't know much about drugs, but I can only imagine it sucks just as much as losing yourself to alcohol. Learned the ice cube thing from a roommate before I died. Seemed to help calm the kid down too, so Charlie's been feeding him one every time he comes home like that.”

Alastor thought about it for a bit, then nodded. He supposed that made sense, much like how he surrounded himself with constant noise, even if it was faint.

"And about this mysterious boyfriend of his?" Husk raised an eyebrow at the question while Alastor tilted his head innocently.

"Not exactly somethin' I know a lot about, but y'know. Judging by how shit he's been doin' lately I'd have to guess they're not getting along right now. Not my business tho’. Kid'll tell me if he feels like it," he mumbled. Alastor nodded again, starting to accept that he wasn't actually gonna get much from anyone except for Angel himself.

"And about his arrival yesterday evening? I was thinking, and it occurred to me he hasn't come back like that in a while now. Not to mention his chipper behavior before going out," Alastor asked, leaving out the little detail of witnessing Angel almost breaking down as soon as he thought no one would see. Husk sighed, tapping his claws repeatedly against the counter as he looked around absentmindedly.

“‘M assuming he went back to Valentino. Usually doesn’t leave just because his phone went off, unless it’s his boss.”

Alastor scowled at the mere mention of Valentino. If he found Angel distasteful, that was nothing compared to how his boss made the deer's skin crawl. Compared to him, Angel was a literal angel, not to mention how different said spider actually was from the other. Angel was loud and annoying, sure, but he wasn’t all bad, especially not when he made a noticeable effort. Valentino was, and would always be in Alastor’s eyes, a sleazy, two-faced, narcissistic little cockroach that Alastor wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. He blinked.

“I have a tendency to leave whenever Angel starts talking about his little… hobbies, but you’re stuck here. Has he ever mentioned how long he’s been working under that roach?” he asked, his expression changing. Husk took notice of it, raising an eyebrow.

“Jesus Christ, what’s with all the questions? Why do you suddenly care?”

“It’s coming to my attention that I might have been a little harsh in my judgements of our dear spider.”

Husk groaned, dropping both his hands on the counter, catching Alastor off guard. “Sure the princess and her girlfriend already told you this, but if you want to know, _ask him yourself._ Really couldn’t hurt to get to know him while you’re at it.”

Alastor wanted to ask more questions, but Husk was quick to shut him down by shifting to the other side of the bar before a full word could even leave the former’s mouth. His ears lowered, visibly annoyed, but it only seemed to amuse the other. Alastor sighed and got up, brushing himself off for non-existent dust. If he had to do this himself, so be it, if he wasn’t getting answers here, he was going straight to the source… Which didn’t seem to be a big accomplishment considering all three demons he’d asked about it had told him to do so, but he chose not to acknowledge that for the moment.

Husk watched as the other made his way across the lobby and began ascending the stairs that lead to the first floor of rooms, shaking his head to himself. Alastor was most likely gonna say something incredibly stupid that’d only cause the spider to clam up on him, but at least it would be a lesson, he guessed. Then again, who the hell knew how Alastor would react if he didn’t get his stupid curiousity satisfied. Either way, it’d probably end in some kind of mess, and Husk made sure to note they might need to stock up on alcohol.

  
  


Alastor had just made it to Angel’s room when Charlie stepped out of it, closing the door behind her. She began moving away, only to shriek when she bumped directly into the deer demon, stumbling back a little while she gathered herself.

“Christ on a stick Al! You can’t keep doing that!” she huffed, hand on her chest as she calmed her breathing. “Are you okay? You look a little tired, do you need anything?” she finally asked after a moment, looking up at the slightly taller demon in front of her.

"Well, I simply came to hear how our dear arachnid is doing! Quite the state he was in yesterday, was it not?" Alastor exclaimed, gesturing to the door behind Charlie. She sighed and nodded a little, rubbing her arm. She still flashed the deer a little smile despite how concerned she seemed.

"I'm glad you want to check up on him though, that's sweet of you. He's sleeping right now, so if you go in there, please be quiet. He needs to rest as much as he can," she murmured softly, stepping out of the way. Alastor's ears flicked a little at her words. He didn't mean to be _sweet_ . Yes, he'd admitted to himself he probably misjudged the spider, but that didn't mean he was going to be _sweet_ now. He brushed it off though and nodded at her, and Charlie disappeared down the hallway, a visible slump to her shoulders.

Alastor turned back to the door, looking at it for a while. He came to talk to Angel, to interrogate him about what was going on, and now he was asleep. It wasn't ideal, but maybe if he got into the spider's room while he was at least unconscious, he could snoop around a little. He wasn't above looking through other people's things. With his mind made up, he opened the door carefully, not wanting to wake Angel, before stepping inside.

Looking around, he was a little surprised at the subtlety of everything. Alastor had never actually been in Angel's room before, the minor glances he'd taken on occasion when doing a wellness check-in never really giving him much.

At the base, it was like any other room at the hotel, but what was strange was how little personality it had. Angel was loud and outgoing, but that didn't show in his room. The vanity propped against the wall connecting to the bathroom was probably the flashiest thing in there, aside from the bed. The vanity had a set of three mirrors connected to the desk, along with a small tabletop one. It had streaks of paint around the edges of each mirror, and as Alastor inspected it, he realized they weren't just random globs that accidentally came to be, they actually resembled something. Like Angel had tried to make it _his_.

Alastor couldn't help running a finger over one of the little drawings, a small undetailed doodle of what he could only assume to be Angel's pet pig. He looked at the different kinds of makeup spread out on the desk itself, only to realize the pallets had doodles on them too. Nothing complicated, but definitely added on by Angel himself and not whoever had produced it. A lot of small hearts and stars, tiny little drawings that left room for more to be added at another point in time.

He looked at the drawers under the desk part of the vanity, pulling one of them open to look through the contents. Empty, except for a few completely empty jars and tins that likely stored makeup in the past. He closed it again and moved onto the next drawer, pulling it open only to reveal more empty space. This one really just had nothing in it, it was bare and dusty, like Angel hadn’t even opened it before. Closing it, Alastor looked at the final drawer. He opened it, and… Nothing.

Alastor frowned as much as he could with the permanent smile, looking around again. He hadn’t thought about it before, but Angel didn’t actually own a lot of things. A majority of his possessions were pictures of Cherri and himself, his pet, and some other demons Alastor didn’t recognize that were stuck on the wall with just a few pieces of tape. The rest of his things were the vanity, a futon by said vanity, and a reading chair in the corner. Everything else in there had come with the room. He didn’t own the bed or the nightstand, he didn’t own the dresser. It was weird seeing the place so empty when Angel was always flashing expensive looking things on his social media, but he realized those weren’t actually owned by the spider. They were Valentino’s things. Things he got to borrow to show off, only to give them back right after. To make him look valuable even though he really had nothing.

Alastor shifted his attention to the bed when the spider in it turned over, burying his face in one of the many pillows. The only thing he seemed to have a lot of was the sheer number of soft pillows Angel had piled on his bed, barely leaving space for anyone to actually lie in. They did look comfortable though, so he assumed that was the intention. He turned to focus on Angel himself, curled up around one of the larger pillows, both sets of arms around it. Alastor made his way over to the bed, almost sinking directly back into the shadows when Angel moved again, only to settle. Alastor released a breath he didn't realize he was holding, looking over the demon in the bed. He wasn't wearing much, but Alastor could hardly complain since this was his private room after all. It did reveal some less pleasant things though.

Alastor tilted his head as he looked over the bruises on Angel's wrists and upper arms, looking to have formed by someone grabbing him forcefully, or from being restrained for a longer period of time. It was made worse when he trailed his eyes up, finding more bruises that were distinctly in the shape of hands around the spider's neck. His expression soured a little at the sight. With the knowledge of who he worked for, and his own association with Valentino through Vox, he could assume how he had gotten said bruises.

Alastor sighed. Well, it wouldn't do to leave, he had questions after all. He held a hand in the air as a book fell into it, moving to sit on the plush futon by the vanity. He opened the book as he began to read. Angel would probably appreciate not waking up alone anyway after a trip like that. Not that Alastor cared. This was purely to get answers.

He sighed again as he glanced up from his book, eyes falling to the nearest bruise on the spider's body.

_This is just to get answers,_ he thought, looking back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And chapter 4! Like I mentioned in my notes of the previous update, things will be picking up from here, so thank ypu for staying patient while I established everything! I hope everyone had a nice holiday!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment telling me what you think, they're very motivating. 
> 
> I hope to update soon ^^


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